However, there is an actual way to increase your buds effectiveness—and it’s much simpler and more scientific than the rumored tricks. Many people use grinders to get their bud to their preferred consistency. Using a grinder is much faster than breaking nugs down by hand.

The problem with using a grinder is that many people don’t realize the affect it has on the buds. Nugs are very sensitive and are coated in thousands of tiny crystals called trichomes. Trichomes (THC) determine a majority of the buds potency. Even if you accidentally drop a nug on a hard surface, hundreds of trichomes fall off and cause the flower to lose some of its potency. When putting nugs into a grinder to break them down, it tears off thousands of trichomes and makes your cannabis far less potent than it should have been.

If you use a grinder you can see the spots where the trichomes get stuck and build up.

Many people believe that grinders with a kief catch are a way to collect the trichomes that fall off, but a kief catch only collects a small percentage of the lost trichomes. Large amounts of THC and plant matter get stuck in the screen and other small crevices of the grinder. What many people don’t realize is that the kief that collects in the kief catch comes directly from the bud you grind. A grinder basically takes the crystals from your bud and gives you a smaller percentage of them back on your herb. The rest of the trichomes get stuck to your grinder or fall into the kief catch. Although breaking nugs up by hand takes time and is very tedious, it really is the only way to ensure your bud does not lose any precious trichomes and retains maximum potency.